Who could have guessed that a poor boy from a single-parent
home, would become a brain surgeon? The book Ben Carson: A Chance at Life
from the Heroes of History series by
YWAM Publishing tells of a man who
changed the course of history.
Under the firm guidance of his mother, Ben had managed to
negotiate his way to a future that was more enjoyable and more rewarding than
anything he could think of. After working in rich folk’s houses every day, his
mother noticed they were not wasting their days looking at a television – they
were busy reading books. So, Ben’s mother told her boys, instead of watching
television after school, they would visit the library and check out at least
two books a week, and at the end of the week they had to give her a report on
what they had read. Ben quickly learned that reading would help him be
successful in life.
In 1969, Ben was accepted for the fall at Yale. He spent
most days studying and attending lectures. Then he met “Candy”. Even though he
had not been looking, he’d found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his
life with. July 6, 1975 was one of the happiest days of Ben’s life – it was his
wedding day.
Ben soon was accepted to Michigan’s Medical School in Ann
Arbor. He did well in his studies. He found that he liked to learn by intense
textbook study and his grades soared. In his third year of medical school, one
of his first rotations was in neurosurgery. Ben had made up his mind, he would
be a neurosurgeon. In the fall of 1977, he was accepted as a resident into the
neurosurgery program at Johns Hopkins. April 1981, Ben was a senior resident at
Baltimore City Hospital, he couldn’t find the neurosurgeon and they were losing
a patient, so with the help of a physician’s assistant, he proceeded the surgery.
Without Ben’s courageous action, the man would have died. Ben won Resident of
the Year for his work, and his findings were written up in medical
journals. Word around the hospital
quickly spread, Dr. Ben Carson could perform complex and risky surgeries. He
soon became chief of pediatrics neurosurgery. It was here, he became the first
surgeon to successfully separate twins joined at the head. Every step of the
surgery had been planned out and every contingency accounted for. Every step in
the process was precise and the hours began to tick as each step was carried
out – he was in the operating room for 22 hours. The twins had a 50 percent chance. At the end
of 10 days, the boys were slowly brought out of their comas, while Ben watched
the boys come back to life, he was hailed as a “miracle worker”.
Young people asked him for his secret to how he had risen
from poverty in a single-parent home to such a prominent position and his
response was “THINK BIG” – each letter stood for something Ben knew was critical
to his success – talent, hope, insight, knowledge, books, in-depth learning,
and God. His life continues to be a model of what it means to care deeply,
serve brilliantly, and lead courageously.
The Ben Carson: A Unit Study Curriculum Guide is designed to accompany the book. It provides
the homeschool parent with ways to use the book as a vehicle for teaching or
reinforcing various curriculum areas, including the following – history,
geography, writing, reading comprehension, public speaking, and art. The activities
recommended in this unit study are reflective of a wide range of learning
styles, designed for both group and individual study, and suitable for a range
of grade levels and abilities.
Visit the Crew Blog to read what the Homeschool Review Crew has to say about this book, as well as other products from YWAM Publishing.
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